Story of my Life
by Ash-Moreno-13
Summary: Once upon a time, there lived a dashing young prince named Nicolas di Angelo. This is the story of how he fell in love with a beautiful, kind, princess. Yeah...no. Nicolas is actually Nico, Nico is me, and can anything really be 'upon a time? Also, this isn't the story of how I fell in love with some random girl. This is the story of my life.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: All the wonderful characters that we all know and love/hate were created by good old Uncle Rick Riordan. (Any characters that you don't recognize are mine).**

Once upon a time, in a far off land, long ago, there lived a dashing young prince named Nicolas di Angelo. This is the story of how he fell in love with a beautiful, kind, princess.

Yeah…...no.

'Nicolas' is Nico, he wasn't a 'dashing young prince', it wasn't long ago, it happened in New York City, Nico is me, and can anything be 'upon a time'?

Also, this isn't the story of how I fell in love with some random girl.

This is the story of my life.

* * *

Let's get this show on the road by talking about my family.

My mom, Maria di Angelo, met my dad, Hades di Angelo, during her senior year at high school. My dad was very rich and decided that he would drop out after he graduated high school, my mom joined him.

Immediately after they graduated they got married and had my older sister Bianca di Angelo. Two years later, they had my twin sister, Nicole Maria di Angelo, and me, Nicolas Hyperion di Angelo.

A little more than a year after we were born, my dad got drunk and got a lady named Marie Levesque pregnant. She died during childbirth, leaving her daughter, Hazel Levesque, in my father's care.

Let's get something straight. My mom and dad loved each other very much. Hazel was just the result of a bad decision.

Shortly after Nikki and I turned eight, our mother was diagnosed with severe lung cancer. Two years and a lot of treatment later, she died.

Let's get another thing straight. I do not want your pity. If I could, I would leave my mom's death out of this, but, seeing as this was a major point in my life, I can't. Just know that I do NOT want your pity.

Three awful years after mom died, dad got remarried to a lady named Persephone who became my step-mom.

Two years after their wedding, Bianca decided to go out with her friends. They were about ten girls who called themselves 'The Hunters' because they refused to date thinking that it was a distraction from their studies.

They decided to go to dinner, forcing Percy Jackson to drive them because even though they were all around seventeen none of them had passed their driver's test.

On the way home, they were hit by a drunk man who ran a red light. Bianca was killed instantly, and her best friend Zoe Nightshade died four hours later.

Before Bianca left, I made Percy promise to keep her safe and to drive well, so after he told Nikki and me that she had died, I resented him pretty badly.

Looking back, I realize that I only hated him because I had a crush on him. I know that it sounds super weird so I'll explain.

I am a dude. Fully male. 100% guy. So when I realized that I had a crush on another dude, I was shocked and confused. I had never been taught anything about LGBTQ+ so when I figured out about my crush on Percy, I freaked out.

I thought that I was a freak. That I was the only person in the entire world who had a crush on someone who was their same gender. I convinced myself that I had to hate him.

So, when he told me about Bianca, I saw this as the perfect excuse to hate him.

Get it now.

A few months later his girlfriend Annabeth and Nikki convinced me to forgive him, which I kind of did.

About a year later, my new friend Jason, Nikki, and I had been talking about all the girls who had a crush on Percy, and I accidentally let slip that in the past I had a major crush on him.

* * *

"I mean, Percy does have a lot of admirable qualities, and he is kind of hot, but all those girls should realize that he has a girlfriend and back off. I eventually did."

Nikki dropped the pencil that she was twirling and looked up from her homework with a look of pure shock on her face, and Jason choked on his water.

I was about to ask what they were staring at when I realized what I had said. I covered my mouth with my hand and moved to get up and leave when I was stopped by Nikki and Jason exclaiming, "I KNEW IT!"

"What?" I asked as Nikki smirked.

"I knew that you had a crush on Percy. It was _so_ obvious, Nico," she said with a wide smile on her face.

"I knew that you were gay, but I had no idea that you liked Percy," he stated.

"You knew? How?"  
"Well, you were kind of obsessed with him." Nikki started.

"You've never stared at a girl before, but you always stare at guys." Jason continued.

"'Hey Bianca, how's Percy doing?'" Nikki added.

"In P.E. you never look at the other dudes, and you change in the showers." Jason reasoned.

"'Oh, I'm sorry about that Bianca. What did Percy do about it?'" Nikki went on.

"And the first time that I took off my shirt in front of you, you yelped and turned away," Jason remembered.

"Okay, I get it. You can stop now." I interrupted, knowing for a fact that my cheeks were on fire.

"Hate to break it to you but you're kind of obvious." Nikki deadpanned.

"So I guess you know," I said after an awkward silence.

"Duh!" they said in unison.

"And you don't hate me for it?"

"No! Of course not Neeks, you're my twin brother, I love you no matter what." Nikki comforted.

"I second that. You are like my little brother, Neeks. I don't care who you like." Jason continued.

"Just because I'm shorter than you doesn't make me your 'little brother' Jason," I stated.

"Well, I am exactly 211 days older than you," Jason stated.

"I can't believe you actually know that."

"Of course he does," Nikki said as she rolled her eyes.

* * *

About a year after that is when the real story starts.


	2. Inconceivable Crushes

"NICO!"

I jerked awake to the sound of my step-mom screaming my name.

_What did I do _now_? _I thought furiously.

"You didn't sweep the floor as I asked you to!" Persephone continued.

I got out of my warm bed, mumbling profanities.

"I'm sorry Persephone." I shouted down to her, pulling on a random black shirt and jeans, "I'll do it right now."

I pulled on some socks and ran downstairs without even bothering to do my hair. I walked into the kitchen to see Persephone wiping off the counters. She put down the sponge and looked me dead in the eye.

"Nico, I understand that you miss Maria, but you _can_ call me mom. You don't have to if it makes you uncomfortable, but it would mean a lot to me if you did. I know that I can never replace her, and I'm not trying to, but I'd like you to know that I'm here for you."

"Yeah, okay. I'll keep that in mind." I answered, looking down and grabbing the broom.

Persephone is a pretty cool person. She is pretty, kind, and very motherly. She's not at all mean to Nikki, Hazel, and me but she is also not mom. Don't get me wrong, anyone would be lucky to have her as a mother, but to me, she always seemed like a replacement. I always felt that by calling her mom I would somehow offend my actual mom.

Wait. I haven't talked about what my family looks like.

* * *

Well, let's start with my father, Hades di Angelo.

He is tall (about 6'5), with long, midnight black hair, and a very pale complexion. He ran his father's old business so he almost always wore a black suit. He has dark brown eyes, almost black, that have a thinner size, that make him seem like he's always glaring. He's a pretty scary dude, but don't let that fool you, he is actually very kind, supportive, and is always helping people in need.

Next, let's talk about mom. My actual mom.

Maria di Angelo was pretty darn short (hardly passing 5'4), with long brown hair, and olive skin. She was completely unemployed, and she usually wore her white apron over pants and a T-shirt, the apron was almost always worn because she was almost always cooking. She was an unofficial chef and baker, and she only cooked for fun. She was amazing, too. She had round, brown eyes, and she almost always looked happy and at peace, and she almost always was.

Now it's time for my other mom.

Persephone is a tall woman (6'3), with shoulder-length blonde hair, and she has very tan skin. She is very different from everyone in our family. She wears a lot of dresses and skirts, but when doing chores she usually wears jeans and a T-shirt. She has pretty blue eyes, and she always looks excited about something, and she usually is (she's one of those people who celebrate literally everything).

Let's talk about Bianca now.

Bianca di Angelo was the spitting image of my mom, except for her pale skin. She was about 5'7 and she usually wore pants, converse and a shirt, with a green rasta cap. It was pretty weird that she had one in the first place, but hey, she was unique. Her eyes matched mom's and she was also very happy and positive. No matter what was happening in her life, she was always positive and had hope that everything would get better.

Let's talk Hazel now.

She is also very short, just passing 5'3, with cinnamon, curly, very wild hair, and dark creamy skin. She is much more girly than Bianca was and wore very girly clothes. She had almond-shaped, gold eyes, and she always looked very serene.

Moving on to Nikki.

Nicole Maria di Angelo is very short (5 feet flat), with long midnight black hair, and olive skin. She loves black. She always has, and I'm pretty darn sure she always will. Her wardrobe consists of very dark colors and nothing girly. She has eyes that match our father's, except hers change colors. When she's around strangers, they are a very dark brown, when she's around people she hates, they are black, and when she's around people she likes, they are the same color as milk chocolate. Like our dad, she looks pretty scary when you first meet her, but once you really get to know her, she is an amazing, kind, and hilarious person (well, hilarious if you have dark and sarcastic humor like me).

Now let's talk about me. Nicolas Hyperion di Angelo.

I am also pretty short (5'6), I have dark black hair that is always hanging over my eyes and pale skin. I also love black, and wear it every day. Pretty much everything in my closet is black. I have the same eyes as Nikki, but mine go by emotions. When I'm happy they are chocolate brown, when I'm sad they are very dark brown, and when I'm angry they are black. I've been told that I also look pretty scary, yet I am really nice, and I guess that it's true.

Now that you know the basics of my family, we can move on.

* * *

"Hey, Neeks!"

I slammed my locker in surprise and turned around to see Jason laughing his head off.

"Jeez bro, who would have thought that you would get scared so easily." He panted, still trying to stop laughing.

"Shut up you idiot," I said, rolling my eyes and turning around to open my locker again.

Jason is six feet tall, with blonde hair, glasses, and blue eyes. He is a pretty normal dude and is like a brother to me.

When he finally stopped laughing he opened his locker right next to mine and pulled out his books.

"So…what's up with you?" he asked, clearly wanting to ask me something else.

"Nothing much, you."

"Fine," he started, obviously not caring much about my answer, "A little birdie told me that you have a new crush."

_Well, that's not good. Just play dumb._

"Oh really? Who?"

"Nikki. She told me that you said something about thinking a certain blonde fellow was hot." he smirked, "Could it possibly be the male that you were making goo-goo eyes at all week?"

_She's such a traitor!_

I felt my face start to warm and tried to push down a blush.

"I don't know what you're talking about. And I don't stare at anyone!" I snapped.

"Yeah, sure." he deadpanned.

I huffed in annoyance.

"Let me get this straight. Or, not straight." he snorted at his dumb pun, "You're telling me that you haven't been staring at Will Solace for the past four days and that you most definitely don't have a crush on him?"

"Yep," I said, popping the p.

"Well that's strange," he said, staring at my nose.

"What?"

"Your nose should have grown long enough to stab me with how big of a lie you just told."

"You're insufferable."

"Thank you." Jason grinned.

"Let's get to class, you idiot. The bells about to ring."

Jason nodded and we started to walk to science.

* * *

"Nikki! I'm going to KILL YOU!" I screamed at the top of my lungs when I walked into the house.

She was already home because I stayed after school waiting for Jason to finish taking a test.

"What did I do?" She asked as she walked down the stairs.

"You told Jason about Will!" I yelled.

"No. I didn't tell him about Will. He already knew. I just confirmed it." she explained.

"I'm still mad at you. He kept bringing it up in front of me today." I told her.

"I know. I saw. It was hilarious."

"It was annoying. And insanely distracting. I almost made our chemistry project blow up!"

"See. Hilarious. Do you realize how funny it would have been if you had blown up your entire table?" She asked.

"Shut up Nikki." I sighed.

"Fine. I'll tell him to stop. But only if you tell both of us how you feel about Will."

"No way! That would be suicide. Jason can't keep a secret to save his life."  
"Okay. Suit yourself." she deadpanned, walking past me into the kitchen.

"Whatever," I said, walking up the stairs to my bedroom.

_It'll be fine. You can handle a few days of teasing from them. Eventually, they'll get bored and move on to something else, and you won't have to tell them that you do like Will. Everything will be fine. Wait, do I like Will? I definitely think that he's hot, but do I have a crush on him?_

As much as I tried, I couldn't convince myself that this would be the case, I kept thinking that they wouldn't stop bugging me until I really told them, but I can't tell them.

Little did I know that telling them would have saved me from a lot of suffering.


	3. Conceivable Crushes

Not talking to those idiots about Will was probably the dumbest thing I've ever done in my entire life.

For the next three weeks, they pestered me, teased me, got in my way, left notes in my locker or on my desk, sent texts, and even emailed me! They did anything they could to make me spill my guts when I couldn't even tell them if I wanted to. I had no idea if I had a crush on him or not.

The only thing that was good about this situation was that they hadn't gotten Percy or Leo into it.

By now you're probably wondering about Will. Who is he? How do I know him? What does he look like? Well, I will answer all of those marvelous questions.

First, let's talk about who he is and how I met him.

* * *

William Solace is one of my best friends. I met him on the very first day of my junior year when he bumped into me in the halls.

"What is your problem," I said.

"Oh, my god dude! I'm so sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going. Do you need help?"

I looked up from where I sat on the floor and gasped.

Standing above me was a literal god. He had an athletic surfer body, shaggy blonde hair, and gorgeous blue eyes. They were a deep blue that seemed to perfectly match the sky. He had very faint freckles dashed across his nose and perfectly white, straight teeth.

"Dude, you good?" he asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I felt heat rush to my cheeks and shook the hair out of my eyes to try and stop it.

"I'm fine," I huffed, reaching up for his outstretched hand.

He pulled me up and proceeded to help me pick up my things.

"See you around." He smiled when we both had our possessions.

"Probably not," I said quietly.

I turned around and walked away towards my first class, and as I was walking into the classroom, I ran into a very solid structure.

I looked up in deep annoyance and saw blondie staring back with a smile on his face.

"Dude you really need to watch where you're walking," I grumbled reaching up for his hand once again.

"Maybe you need to learn how to not fall onto your butt," he answered.

"And you should probably get a lesson or two on how to treat the people you ram onto the floor."

"Sorry. Again," he said with a slight flush on his cheeks.

"That's much better."

We both started laughing.

"Can we start over?" he asked, "I'm Will Solace."

"Nico di Angelo," I responded.

"I know," he said, "I've seen you around. Plus you're Jason's friend. There are very few people who everybody in this school knows including Jason Grace, Percy Jackson, and their friend Nico."

"Who would've thought that I'm so popular." I teased.

"Dude everybody knows you. You're Jason Grace's terrifying best friend."

"Is that really how people know me?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Well, if it helps, I try not to be scary. It just comes naturally."

He burst out laughing.

"I'm just shocked that the most mysterious kid in school is funny," he said, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes.

I rolled my eyes.

From that moment on, with five out of eight classes together, Will and I were inseparable.

* * *

I plopped down next to Will with a scowl on my face.

"What's up with you?" Will asked with a smirk on his face.

"Jason and Nikki won't stop bugging me. It's been three weeks and they won't stop pestering me."

"Sounds like you should talk to them. We both know that neither of them will leave you alone until you tell them whatever they want to know." he reasoned.

"I don't even know the answer to their question! I couldn't tell them if I wanted to!"

"Well, then you should probably fix that first."

I was about to ask him how I do that when Ms. Dodds started class.

* * *

"That was the most boring lecture I have ever been forced to sit through."

"Nico, you say that about every lecture," Will responded.

"That's not true. I only say it about the Math, Science, English, Shop and History ones." I defended myself.

"That would mean that you only don't say it about Art and Photography. And you don't even have lectures in those classes."

"Exactly."

"You're such an idiot," he said in between laughs

"Thank you."

He started laughing harder and I smiled. _I love it when he laughs. He looks like a cute little puppy dog. And his laugh. It's the best sound in the world. I would constantly listen to it if I could. Wait how long have I been staring at him. Snap out of it man!_

I pried my eyes away from his face and looked down at the floor in pure embarrassment.

* * *

The next day in History we started working on a group presentation and, of course, Will and I were partners.

"I don't understand. Why did Hitler kill people who didn't have blonde hair? _He_ didn't have blonde hair!" Will asked.

"He didn't kill people who weren't blonde. The Nazi racial theory had a pecking order. The tall, athletic, blonde, blue-eyed 'Nordic Aryans' was the ideal. At the other end of the spectrum were the Untermensch - Jews, Gypsies, Slaves, blacks - who were considered only suitable for slave labor or extermination.

"Yet, being blonde could save your life. When the Germans flattened the Czech village of Lidice as a reprisal, they shot all the men and sent all the women and children to concentration camps, but, a handful of blonde, blue-eyed children were saved and sent to German families to be raised as Germans. The kidnapping of children was in the aim of promoting racial purity and was yet another cruelty practiced by the Nazis." I explained.

"It still doesn't make sense." Will sighed.

I rolled my eyes.

"How do you know that anyway?"

"It's called research. Maybe you should try it sometime."

"Ouch. That was harsh. I'll have you know that I do research all the time. I just don't do it about something as depressing as World War II."

"So you're telling me that you never wondered what happened during World War II?"

"Well, I wondered, but I never did research about it. I knew that it would make me cry."  
"You never googled the Holocaust because you knew you would cry?"

"Yeah. During third grade, I started crying when the teacher showed us a video about animal poaching. Hitler was basically a human poacher, and I know for a fact that it would make me cry."

At that, I just burst out laughing.

"It's not funny." Will defended.

"It's hilarious. People think that you're so tough, but deep down you're just a big softie." I stated, gasping for air from laughing so hard.

I looked up and saw Will, practically beaming, despite my teasing and knew that I was in deep trouble.

I had a crush on my best friend.


	4. Date or no Date

"Nikki! Jason! I need you guys right now. IT'S AN EMERGENCY!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, staring in shock at my phone.

Nikki ran down the stairs and into the living room, just as Jason burst out of the kitchen with his mouth full.

"What happened? Why do you need us? What's the emergency? Are you okay?" Nikki asked.

"You okay man?" Jason asked. Well, I think he said that. His mouth was full, so I don't know for sure.

"I'm fine. Calm down. I just need to talk to you guys." I said.

"Are you kidding me! I was painting! I literally threw my paintbrush onto the floor, trying to get here! I thought you were dying you, idiot!" Nikki yelled.

"So this isn't an emergency?" Jason wondered, having successfully swallowed all of his food.

"No, everything's fine. I just have to talk to you."

"About what?" the two asked in unison.

"About this," I responded, showing them my phone.

Nikki snatched the phone out of my hand and held it up so that she could look at it better. Her eyes bulged out of her head as she read. Jason, noticing her expression, bent over to look at it.

"OH MY GOD, NICO! THIS IS AMAZING!" Nikki shouted, happily.

Jason grabbed the phone so he could continue to read. When he finished reading, he gasped.

"Dude, that's awesome. I have to tell Percy about this."

"Please don't. We both know that he will never leave me alone if you do." I said, yanking his phone out of his hands.

"Which is exactly why _I_ just told him," Nikki stated.

I bet you're wondering what I showed the two of them, but before that, you have to know one important fact. I told them about my crush.

But, I didn't do it on purpose.

* * *

"Nico, will you shut up?" Nikki shouted.

"I'm not making any noise." I defended.

"Then stop thinking so loud," she sighed, "What _are_ you even thinking about?"

"I would also like to know that. I can practically see the gears turning in your head." Jason stated.

"I'm thinking about my crush," I said.

At this time, I was so deep into my thoughts that there was literally no way I could have stopped myself from saying this.

"Who is it?" Nikki and Jason both yelled excitedly.

By now, I had realized what I said and was mentally face-palming.

"It doesn't matter."

"Yes, it does!"

"No, it does not!"

"Yes, it really does!"

"You're right, it does matter."

"Really?"

"Yep, just not to you."

"Wow, just wow," Nikki stated.

"Just tell us!" Jason sighed.

"I'd rather not."

And it was at this moment when Will decided to text me.

I looked down at my phone and started to text back when I noticed the two looking at each other.

"What?" I asked looking at them.

"Who texted you?" Jason asked.

"Will."

"So, you're telling us that we were completely right?" Nikki wondered

"Right about what?" I questioned.

"Right about your crush," Jason stated.

"You guys don't know who my crush is."

"It's Will." Nikki deadpanned.

I felt blood rush to my cheeks. I shook my hair to have it cover my face. "No, it's not."

"Aw," Jason cooed, "Nikki, did you see that? He blushed."

"Seriously, so adorable." Nikki agreed.

"Stop it. It's not Will. And even if it was, there is a zero percent chance that he will ever like me back. He's popular, attractive, funny, nice, smart, and adorable. Nobody like him could ever have a crush on someone like me. Where he's amazing, I'm mediocre. And on top of that, he's straight."

"Come on man, don't think like that." Jason comforted me.

"You are literally such an idiot." Nikki sighed.

"Nikki, don't say that." Jason scolded.

"But it's true! I can think of three things you got wrong just barely! The cumulative group of all evidence pointing to him liking you is overwhelming. One, you told me that Will automatically knew your name. He said you were well known, and you are. But almost nobody _actually_ knows your name. He might have just figured it out seeing as his group sits next to ours at lunch, but I doubt it. It's more likely that he had seen you around and took the time to try and find it."  
"That doesn't make sense…" I interrupted, but she just continued.

"Two, you are amazing Nico. You're smart, artistic, creative, funny, kind, cool, not-annoying, and, as much as I hate saying it, pretty damn attractive. There are so many girls who I know for a fact have a crush on you and plenty that I'm pretty sure are head-over-heels for you. There are even a few guys that like you!"  
"That's obviously a lie…." I tried interrupting again.

"Three, that boy is just about as straight as Rachel's hair. Only an oblivious idiot would think otherwise. Have you ever seen him flirt with a girl? No, because he hasn't even flirted with a girl. Literally every straight guy flirts with girls, even the ones that are already dating someone. And, he has stated that his favorite color is rainbow. Fucking rainbow, Neeks! That's literally the gayest thing he could do. Like me! I'm bi and I say my favorite colors are blue, pink, and purple. It's just what people like us do!"

By this point, she was literally screaming, and I was as red as a tomato.

The room was completely silent for about thirty seconds until Jason burst out laughing his head off like a maniac.

"He actually said that. Oh my god, that's _so _gay. I think you're good Neeks." he panted in between laughs.

"Is all of that really true?" I asked, cringing at how hopeful I sounded.

"Duh!" she sassed.

"See, you do have a crush on Will," Jason said, finally done laughing.

Nikki and I both face-palmed, laughing at Jason's utter stupidity.

* * *

Now that that's been said, back to the story.

I sighed, thinking of all the teasing that was ensured with Percy knowing.

I looked back at my phone and felt a slight blush cover my cheeks. I was looking at a text from the one-and-only, Will Solace.

_Hey, Neeks! I was thinking about how we haven't hung out in weeks and came up with a brilliant idea. We all know about the dance on Friday, and I was thinking that we should go together._

Even though he probably meant for us to go as friends, I couldn't help but hope that he didn't. Despite knowing deep down that he was probably going to ditch me for somebody else, I kept imagining every little detail. Will picking me up. Taking me out to eat dinner at a fancy restaurant. Us, slow dancing. Him dropping me off at home and leaning in for a kiss-

_Stop it, Nico, _I scolded myself, _you gotta pull yourself together dude. Will obviously was asking you out as a friend. Once we get there, he'll leave, and you'll be all alone. He probably already has a date._

I shook my head and pushed all of these thoughts deep down, focusing on what was currently happening. It would only be a mess if I got myself so worked up about the future that I had a mental breakdown. Not here. Not now. Maybe when I'm in my room, alone, at midnight?

Yeah, that would work. I just have to hold it in till then.

"What should I say?" I asked Nikki.

"Here let me." she grabbed my phone and started typing frantically typing, often stopping to think.

"Okay," Nikki started once she was finished texting, "It's Monday, so we only have four days of preparation. We have to get your hair cut, trim your nails, and… shit! You don't have a suit! We have to go shopping too."

I let Nikki continue to mumble, picked up my phone from where she dropped it on the couch and looked at what she texted.

_Okay, sure. I don't have a date or any plans, so I guess that would work out._

_Damn, she knows me well. That sounds exactly like me. I guess it's official, no backing out of this now. I am going to a school dance with my best friend. All I can do now is hope that this doesn't end in a disaster._

Little did I know that this was going to be one of the best, as well as one of the worst, nights of my entire life.

**AN: As much as I personally hate reading AN's, this one is necessary. I am so sorry for the late update. I know it's only a day late, but I feel awful! I love writing, but Wednesday was so busy that I didn't have any time to even open the computer, and when I finally did have time (at 10:00 p.m.), I couldn't think of a thing. So again, sorry for being late, and thanks for your support!**


	5. Talks of Perfection

**AN: Hi! So I know it's been like forever since I last posted, but I've been so swamped with online school that I haven't had like any time to write (damn COVID19). I was going to post like three chapters to make up for it, but instead, I just chose to write an extra-long chapter with some deep conversation. Woo... go me! Anyways, I hope you enjoy! **

I woke up to a loud ping from my phone. I groaned as I reached over and picked it up to look at the message I had just gotten.

_Nico! Get your lazy ass in here right now! _

_No! I was sleeping, you bitch! _I responded to Nikki's text.

_I don't give a fuck! It's 10:30 and you need to wake up! I'm taking you shopping!_

_Why? _

_Because the dance is tomorrow, you don't have anything to wear, you desperately need a haircut, and you need a major makeover. _

I groaned. _How long is this going to take?_

_At the rate we're going it'll probably take till 10:30 tonight. So get off your ass and get ready. We're leaving at exactly 10:45. You have twelve minutes._

"Shit!" I said, leaping out of my bed to get some clothes on.

When Nikki says stuff like that, she means it. And she is not afraid to drag you out of the house and into the car by your ear if you're not ready.

I pulled on some black ripped jeans, a plain black shirt, and my converse, and raced out of my room to get some food.

Nikki was sitting in the kitchen, scrolling through her phone and calmly eating a banana.

"Eight minutes," she stated, not looking up from her phone.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." I grumbled, grabbing some granola bar and a protein shake from the fridge.

When I had finished eating, Nikki said, "Three minutes. Do you have everything you want."

"Well, I need to grab a jacket and my wallet."

"You better hurry up. I'm getting in the car now and if you're not on time then there will be consequences." she threatened.

I raced out of the room grabbed my jacket and my wallet, and ran outside into the car.

"Exactly 10:45! Boom!" I gloated while we pulled out of the driveway.

"Yes, Nico. You did very well. Do you want a treat now." Nikki mocked.

I rolled my eyes and pulled out my phone. This was gonna be a long day.

"Nico, no! That one would look awful on you!" Nikki hissed.

I hung the bright purple suit back up and sighed, "You're no fun, Nick."

"This isn't supposed to be fun."

I rolled my eyes and turned away, looking through the suits to see if there were any I liked.

"None of these feel right," Nikki muttered, "none of them are gonna work."

She was off in her own world staring at all the suits and muttering randomly. She was obviously very devoted to doing this for me.

Nikki turned down a different aisle and squealed.

"Nico, come here," she stated excitedly.

I walked over to look at what she was pointing to and gasped. It was absolutely perfect.

"This is the one," we both said in unison.

We paid for the suit and walked out of the store.

"Now we need to get you a haircut and major makeover," Nikki said, ruffling my hair.

I shrugged her off and asked where we were going to go.  
"I think you know," she smirked pulling out of the parking lot.

"You can't be serious," I shouted, "we can't be going _there._"

"I am serious. We are going there. Even you can't deny that she's the best in the business."

"Yeah, but she's _so _annoying," I whined.

Nikki didn't respond.

"Nico! Nikki! What a surprise to see you here!" Aphrodite cheered.

"Hello, Miss. McLean." Nikki said.

"Oh, come on Nikki. We've known each other for years! When are you going to start calling me Aphrodite, everyone does."

"I don't know, it just feels disrespectful. And you know how serious our dad is about respect."

"Nonsense," Aphrodite waved her hand around, dismissing the subject completely, "Anyways, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Nico here has a date for the dance tomorrow," Nikki said.

Aphrodite squealed. "Oh my god, who is he?"

"It's Will."

"That's adorable! Piper's told me all about you two."

"I know right! It's so cute!" Nikki responded.

"Oh, you can't go to the dance like _that_! Thank god you brought him here Nikki, he desperately needs help." Aphrodite muttered.

"Hey! I'm right here you know." I shouted defensively.

"Piper! Get in here, Nico needs some serious help." Aphrodite called.

Piper rushed in. "He actually came?"

"Not of my own free will," I grumbled.

"Thank you, Nikki! I've been trying to get him in here for _weeks!_"

"Oh my god, Nico's here! Let's bash on him and destroy his self-confidence, that'll be fun." I mocked them all, but nobody seemed to listen.

Dad is a well-known businessman. He makes a lot of press conferences, and he has to look nice for all of them. Because of this, he gets his hair cut a lot.

Aphrodite owns the best spa/salon in all of New York, so, of course, dad goes to her every time he needs something like this. The McLeans are our really close family friends, and Piper is like another sister to Nikki, Hazel, and me.

"Oh my god, Hazel!" Nikki shouted.

She pulled out her phone and quickly dialed Hazel's number.

"Hazel! I'm at Aphrodite's salon with Nico. He's getting his hair cut for the dance. Get over here now!" Nikki stated into her phone.

A few minutes later, Hazel arrived with Thalia, Jason, and Reyna.

"Hey, guys. I brought Thalia, Jason, and Reyna with me. I thought they'd want to see this."

"And she was damn right," Reyna said.

"I've been waiting for this moment for years. There is no way that I'd miss this." Thalia stated.

"This has been my main goal since we were fourteen. If I missed this now then these past two years of my life would have been nothing but a massive waste of time." Jason explained.

"Okay, I've got everything prepared, you ready?" Aphrodite said, walking into the waiting room with Piper trailing behind her.

"Oh, looks like we've got an audience Pipes," she started, looking at the now very crowded room, "this way everyone."

We walked into a back room and I sat in the chair. I braced myself for what was about to happen.

"This was a really bad idea. I like having long hair. Can't we just leave it?" I said.

"Too late now," Piper said as she snipped off a long strand of my hair, "It's gone."

"We're done now. You can look." Aphrodite said about twenty minutes later.

"I don't wanna. I'll probably faint." I said, closing my eyes tightly.

"Oh come on. Nico, it looks amazing, you have to look." Hazel said pulling me up by my hands and walking me over to the mirror.

"Open your eyes on the count of three," she said.

"One." the whole group said in unison.

"Two."

"Three." I opened my eyes and stared at myself.

The sides of my head had been buzzed short and a long, poofy mess of black was left above.

"Oh my god," I stated.

"I know. It looks amazing!" Reyna said putting her arm around my shoulders.

"Seriously Nico. It looks sick." Thalia said patting my back.

"Guys, I think he's in shock," Jason stated, looking at me intently.

"My hair has never been this short. Ever." I said.

"Oh, come on. It's not even that short." Piper sighed.

"I kinda like it," I said reaching up and touching my head.

"Of course you do honey. I did it." Aphrodite gloated.

Piper glared daggers at her mom. "With a lot of help from my amazing daughter Piper, which makes it even better." Aphrodite amended.

Piper nodded, clearly satisfied and Aphrodite smiled at her.

"I have another appointment soon, so I'll let Piper take over from here," Aphrodite stated and rushed out of the room.

"Come on Neeks," Piper said grabbing my wrist and dragging me over to a door, "this next part is gonna be a surprise for the others."

"What are you gonna do?" I asked Piper.

She pushed me into a chair and started rummaging around the room for random supplies.

"Nails."

"Wait, what!" I shouted.

"I am going to paint your nails. Was that not clear?"

"You can't paint my nails!"

"Yeah, I can. It's actually pretty easy."

"Not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean."

"I don't want you to paint my nails."

"I don't care. It's not like I'm gonna paint them bright pink. I'm painting them navy blue." she stated, holding up a bottle of dark nail polish.

"What is everyone gonna think when they see me wearing nail polish?" I yelled.

"Not much more then they were already thinking Neeks," Piper said.

"What's that supposed to mean," I asked.

"Left hand," she commanded, "People already think you're gay. I'm just subtly confirming it. I mean, you're going to the dance with Will. People are gonna wonder if you're straight or not."

"It's not like it's a date." I defended.

"Oh, please. It's a date. Trust me. I'm the person he goes to for love advice. Who do you think sent you that text."

"Uh… Will?"

"It sure wasn't him."

"Um…."

"It was me. I asked you out for him. He was gonna do it in person, but he chickened out. He also chickened out with the text. Right hand. He couldn't 'find the right words' or some shit, so he forced me to do it."

"Oh…"

"Don't feel discouraged. I think that he was just nervous that he would mess up and scare you away."

I stayed silent.

"Nico, Will is head over heels for you. I've heard it enough times from him, directly and indirectly. He really likes you." Piper comforted.

"Everyone keeps telling me that, but I just don't get it! How can anybody like me so much? I don't even like myself that much."

"That's the beauty of love. You don't have to understand it. You just have to go along with it. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. It's impossible to know and understand love perfectly." Piper said.

"But I want to understand. I want to know. I want to see why somebody so perfect could like somebody so imperfect."

Piper put down all of her stuff. She grabbed my dry hand and held it in both of hers.

"Nico, Will's not perfect," Piper started in a soft voice, "Will is far from perfect. You are far from perfect. I am far from perfect. Jason is far from perfect. Nikki is far from perfect. Hazel is far from perfect. _Everybody_ is far from perfect.

"I like to believe, that the universal _perfect_ doesn't exist. I like to believe that there is no worldly standard for what's perfect, and what isn't. I like to believe that nobody's perfect because everybody's perfect. Perfect in there own weird, annoying, imperfect way.

"I also like to believe, that the social perfect is just a random, empty, incorrect definition for a word that has more than one meaning. Something that was randomly cooked up in a lab to fill the endless confusion that is perfect.

"Perfect. What a weird word. Have you ever thought about just the word perfect? Even that's imperfect in my opinion."

The room stayed silent for a few awkward minutes.

Piper got out of her chair across from me and walked over to my side. She pulled me out of the chair and into a tight hug.

"You are your own perfect Nico. Don't let anybody, especially yourself, tell you otherwise," she whispered softly.

A few seconds later, she pulled away and pushed me back down into the chair. She walked over to her own chair, sat down, and continued to paint my nails.

"Once the paint dries we can be done, but tomorrow I'm coming over before the dance to help get you ready. Lou Ellen is gonna help get Will ready under my orders so you can both look absolutely stunning."

"Thank you, Piper," I said.

"You're welcome. That's what friends are for," she said.

**AN: Hi, again! I managed to find a picture for what I think Nico's hair would look like, but this damned website is fucking with me and won't let me put one in. So here's the URL: ** . **If you really want to copy all of that, then be my guest! Again, I'm so sorry for the long wait, but at least I actually managed to post (thank god). Who's ready for the next chapter? I know I am!**

**-Ash Out!**


	6. Getting Ready

"Nico! I swear to god if you don't get out of your room right now I will kick it down!"

"I'm sorry, Nikki. Just let me put a shirt on." I shouted.

"What's the point? I'm just gonna make you take it off and put on your tux."  
I opened my door, "I was trying to be modest and nice."

"I'm your twin sister. You don't have to be modest or nice around me," she said, hand on her hip.

I rolled my eyes and walked over to the closet, pulling out the tux.

"Piper should be here in a few minutes so we need to get you changed," Nikki stated.

I closed myself into my bathroom, changing into the slacks for the suit. I buttoned up the plain shirt, and let Nikki inside.

"How long is this going to take? I mean, you and Piper still need to get ready."

"Piper said that she would get ready before she came over, and I'm not going," Nikki answered, helping me pull on the blazer and touching up the rest.

"What?" I exclaimed, "You _have_ to go!"  
"Come on, Nico. It's not like I have a date. I'd much rather stay home, eat ice cream, and binge-watch _Stranger Things_ than go murder my ankles walking around in heels bored out of my mind at a dance." she defended.

"But, what if something bad happens and I need your help?"

"You can call me."  
"What if I need your help with clothes or hair?"  
"Piper's gonna be there."  
"What if my phone dies and I can't call you?"  
"Again, Piper will be at the dance. She's probably better at relationship advice than me. You're in good hands."  
"What if I need support and comfort that only you, my amazing twin sister, can give to me."

"I don't even have a dress!"  
We heard a knock at the door and Nikki left the room to go answer it. A little bit later Nikki and Piper walked into the room.

"Woah, Piper! What's in the bag?" I asked.

Over her shoulder, Piper was lugging a large white bag, very similar to the one my tux came in.

"Before that, let's talk about that suit. It's amazing!"

The suit I was wearing was a very dark, navy blue, with simple, black flower designs covering it. Underneath it, I was wearing a plain white shirt, with a plain black tie.

"Thanks, Pipes. Now, what's in the bag?"  
"Well, when Nikki told me that she wasn't going to the dance and she didn't have a dress, I was shocked. I mean, she has to go to the dance! If anything goes wrong, I most likely won't be able to help you because I'll be helping Will. We're just lucky that I happen to have an amazing mother with an amazing boutique." She pulled a dress out of the bag.

The dress was short and black. It had a simple tight base, with a black see-through fabric covering it. There was a sash tied around the waist. The dress had no sleeves and the neck had silver jewels embedded around it.

"Here you go, Nikki." Piper beamed.

"Oh my god! It's a beautiful Piper! I can't wear this!" Nikki exclaimed.

"Don't be silly. Of course, you can wear it. You know what? Keep it! Mom gave it to me a few months ago, but it didn't fit very well. After I had tried it on, she told me to keep it, but I don't want a dress that doesn't fit and will never be worn."  
Before Nikki could protest, Piper shoved the dress into her arms and forced her into the bathroom to change.

"Call me in if you need help," Piper turned towards me, "Okay let's start on your hair."  
She sat me down at my desk and started to brush and style my hair.

A few minutes later Nikki opened the bathroom door and walked out, looking nervous.

"It looks amazing Nick," I comforted her  
"Seriously! It is gorgeous on you!" Piper gushed.

"Thanks," Nikki responded, looking down and rubbing her neck.

"How does my dress look?" Piper asked.

She was wearing a sleeveless dress with a white, laced bodice, and a short to long light pink skirt with a tie around the waist. Her hair was loosely curled and pulled to the side. She wore white sandal-like heels and very simple gold earrings.

"You look, beautiful Piper," Nikki said.

"Well, I would say something like, 'I'd totally date you if you were single,' but I'm gay so…"

The two girls burst out laughing.

"I have some shoes for you, Nikki." Piper giggled, gasping for air.

"Really?"

"Yeah!" she walked over to the discarded white bag and pulled out some simple ballet-slipper-like black shoes with a thin black tie to secure it, "I was also thinking that I could do your make-up and hair after helping you with Nico. He's almost ready."  
"Of course you can! I couldn't imagine doing it myself!"

* * *

After another hour of getting ready, we were finally ready to go.

The plan was to lounge around until Will came to pick me up. He would take me out to do whatever he planned (with the help of Piper) and the other two would leave for the dance a few minutes before it was scheduled to start.

Piper was going to go out to dinner with Jason, but he had something come up, so instead, she would keep Nikki company.

"Are you ready to go?" Piper asked me.

"I think so. God, I'm so nervous!"

"You'll be fine. You are going to have so much fun!" Nikki pulled me into a tight hug.

"No, no, no. That won't do. You guys are going to mess up all of my hard work." Piper rushed to break us apart from the hug.

We all laughed for a few seconds before we heard a knock at the door.  
"Ooh! That's Will! Go up into your room for a few seconds, I'll call you down soon." Piper pushed me towards the stairs, as Nikki walked over to open the door.

I closed the door to my room and stood impatiently by the door, excitedly waiting for them to call me downstairs.

I heard Will laugh loudly and my heart skipped a beat.

"Nico, hurry up, will you?" Nikki called up.

I waited a few seconds then opened my door and walked down the stairs.

"Hi," I said awkwardly, standing before Will.

"Wow, Nico. You look… wow." Will blushed.

"Thanks, Will. You look wow too." I teased.

He chuckled at the comment.

As much as I said this to break the ice, I also found it to be very true.

He looked stunning in his light grey suit, with a white shirt and yellow tie underneath. His shaggy blonde locks were styled to look messy, but nice. His sky-blue eyes shone and he had a smile plastered to his face.

"For-real though, you look great."

"Thank you, Nico."  
"That was just about the most awkward thing I've ever seen in my life," Nikki stated.

"Shut up, Nikki." I snapped, looking in her direction.

"Whatever, get out of here lovebirds." she joked.

We both blushed a deep scarlet. Will opened the door and held out his hand dramatically.

"After you." he bowed.

"Come on you drama queen." I grabbed his arm and pulled him outside.

"That's drama king to you peasant." Will joked.

"Have fun, and take pictures!" Piper called out, closing the door.


End file.
